Chief Imam cautions EC ahead of November polls

The office of the national Chief Imam has warned the Electoral Commission to desist from stressing on the mantra ‘ elections are won at the polling stations’

Voting during the Abuakwa North by-election

According to the spokesperson for the national Chief Imam Sheik Shuab Ayeremeyaw the slogan has a very high tendency of breeding acrimony at the various polling stations during the November polls.

"If you consider the context of that mantra; it came during the eight-month long election petition period. Afari Gyan himself said that elections are won at the polling stations. What it meant to the losing parties is that probably they were less vigilant. In that mantra, the attribute of fairness and freeness required in a democratic environment was not highlighted.

“So what it means is that by all means you have to win your election at the polling station; it could be interpreted as such. When people become extra vigilant, it creates a tensed environment and we could easily flip into violence and those are the signs we saw in the limited voters registration exercise,” he said in an interview with Accra based Starr FM.

Former chairman of the commission Dr Afari Gyan during the election petition hearing opined that the EC does not and cannot tamper with votes that are filed to their data systems after they leave the polling stations.